MEDT 7469 – Sherry C. Cieutat
Promotion of Services
Seasoned school library media specialists (SLMS) have learned from experience that it is up to us to advocate, advertise, plan, create, and be seen as teacher-leaders in our schools. If we don’t put forth the effort to create a strong school library, it is quite possible that no one will. Promoting the services that we can provide our school community is a great way to advocate for our school library media centers. For the Promotion of Services assignment, I decided to focus on copyright, GALILEO, and collaboration. I surveyed eighteen schools within my district asking them how they were promoting these three services and I received responses back from six media specialists.
Copyright – Most of the schools took a hands-off approach with copyright. Copyright policies are included in the media handbook and posters are displayed above the copiers.
One elementary media specialist usually gives a copyright brochure to the staff. She was out of the brochures and unable to provide me with the contact information. One high school media specialist said, “We serve as the resource for copyright information for faculty and students.” This high school also includes links to websites on the homepage of Destiny for teacher reference. One media specialist included some information about copyright in a recent newsletter with links to some beneficial websites that teachers can refer to if they have a question. I was quite shocked that these
school library media specialists do not regularly teach lessons on copyright and plagiarism to their students.
I know that we cannot create enemies by becoming the undercover “copyright police.” However, we should do more than merely mention the word “copyright” once a year. Teachers, and especially students, must be taught regularly what it means to “copy right” – the right way that is. As media specialists, it is our job to teach and model correct copyright procedures as well as how to avoid plagiarism.
GALILEO – At least one elementary school admitted that she does very little to promote GALILEO at her school. One elementary media specialist tries to include a review of GALILEO in one of the monthly media newsletters. The following is a sample of GALILEO information provided in hermonthly media newsletter:
GALILEO Resources Bring Black History Alive
Don’t forget GALILEO as you prepare for black history studies in the classroom. In subscription databases and in the Digital Library of Georgia and the Civil Rights Digital Library, you will find original film footage, photographs, biographies, and more to engage your students in the movements, events, and people who are key to black history.
Civil Rights Digital Library
http://crdl.usg.edu/
The CRDL includes a digital video archive of historical news film allowing learners to be nearly eyewitnesses to key events of the Civil Rights Movement. The CRDL is also a portal to content on the Movement across the nation. A collection of Educator Resources is included.
Digital Library of Georgia
http://www.galileo.usg.edu/express?link=dlg1
Databases in the DLG include photograph collections, historical newspapers, and primary source materials. Browse by Peoples and Cultures, your county, Collections A-Z, or other indexes to find content appropriate to your curriculum.
Britannica Encyclopedias
http://www.galileo.usg.edu/express?link=zebs
In any of the grade-level encyclopedia home pages, click spotlights then select Encyclopaedia Britannica’s Guide to Black History for biographies, a timeline, audio and film clips and more. Take a look at the other spotlights while you’re there. These collections include a wealth of material on topics popular in all grade levels.
NoveList K-8 and NoveList
http://www.galileo.usg.edu/express?link=zkne
http://www.galileo.usg.edu/express?link=zknl
Use advanced search to search for authors by cultural or national identity. Also take advantage of subject terms, reading and Lexile levels, and other tools to create bibliographies to attract all ages and topics.
Several schools said they promote GALILEO by emailing the new password to teachers. Several schools mentioned that they provide a link to GALILEO on Destiny’s
homepage. A high school media specialist said her students use Galenet much more than GALILEO but they are taught how to use both. Both students and teachers are given GALILEO and Galenet handouts. This high school also provides links to GALILEO and Galenet in the student resource folders on the computers for easier access. Additionally,
the remote access feature is regularly promoted reminding students they can access these resources from home.
One elementary media specialist gave an overview of how he promotes GALILEO at his school. He said, “In 5th grade, our kids have several research assignments, so we hit GALILEO and Destiny WebPaths” (typically over two or three library visits). He starts by engaging students in a discussion about the popularity contest that we call Google. He teaches students that Google is great for current events but not so great for academic research. Next, he teaches students that “anyone can make a website.” He demonstrates by visiting the following “phony” websitesto demonstrate that legitimate looking websites can still be a farce:
Visiting these websites leads into a lesson on website evaluation. Next, he introduces Destiny Webpath. He demonstrates by looking up something on which he has little print information (i.e.Lyndon Johnson, Civil War medicine). When the search results appear, he shows them the additional media that can be found outside the school’s book collection - all from within Destiny Quest. Finally, it is time for the GALILEO introduction. He starts by showing the students Britannica Elementary from within GALILEO. He also explains what the main database (periodical publications) can be used for.
GALILEO is such a valuable, not to mention, “free” resource for students and their families in the state of Georgia. As media specialists, we should be leaders by taking the time to learn and explore all that GALILEO has to offer and then offering to teach media lessons as well as providing training to staff. If we do not make GALILEO, and other safe, educational, research databases a priority, surely our students, teachers, and parents will not either.
Collaboration – One elementary media specialist’s idea of promoting collaboration was“meeting with teachers.” I guess something is better than nothing. One elementary media specialist said she had tried several different strategies over the years to promote collaboration and has come to the conclusion that “it is better to look for the change leaders in grade levels and go to that teacher to talk about ideas. Usually, if that teacher is excited about what you've done together, the word will spread to other teachers.”
A high school media specialist said, “We collaborate with all teachers who sign up to use the media center” and “we especially assist with research needs.” Since this high school SLMS is a former English teacher, she is quite comfortable at helping the English and History teachers plan their research assignments to match the school’s resources. She also teaches MLA formatting to the students. When history classes research in the media center, she teaches the English aspects of the assignments. This high school media specialist says collaboration has always been very easy at her school. She believes that it is mostly because she started out teaching English at the same school and developed a relationship with a lot of the teachers before she became a SLMS.
However, for most of us, promoting collaboration is an age old problem. Although it is frustrating, discussions such as these remind us that we are not alone struggling in this area. Over the years I have come to realize that it seems the best collaboration solution for your sanity is to grab your leaders and do killer lessons with them and keep trying to gently nudge the others along.